International Business: Musk seeks 10pc job cuts at Tesla over economic fears – Gulf Digital News

International Business: Musk seeks 10pc job cuts at Tesla over economic fears – Gulf Digital News

SAN FRANCISCO: Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a “super bad feeling” about the economy and needs to cut about 10 per cent of staff at the electric carmaker, he said in an email to executives seen by Reuters.

The message, sent on Thursday and titled “pause all hiring worldwide”, came two days after the billionaire told staff to return to the workplace or leave, and adds to a growing chorus of warnings from business leaders about the risks of recession.

Tesla shares fell 9pc in US trade yesterday after the Reuters report. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down about 2pc.

In another email to employees yesterday, Musk said Tesla will be reducing salaried headcount by 10pc, as it has become “overstaffed in many areas.” But “hourly headcount will increase,” he said.

“Note, this does not apply to anyone actually building cars, battery packs or installing solar,” Musk wrote in the email seen by Reuters.

Almost 100,000 people were employed at Tesla and its subsidiaries at the end of 2021, its annual SEC filing showed. It did not break down numbers of salaried and hourly workers.

The Texas-based company was not immediately available for comment.

Musk has warned in recent weeks about the risks of recession, but his email